


Defying Expectations

by lil_fubsy



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Akashi Masaomi's A+ Parenting, Developing Friendships, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Eventual Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Slow Build, Teenage Drama, Training Camp, i love how that's a tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:20:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23255341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_fubsy/pseuds/lil_fubsy
Summary: Seirin and Rakuzan coincidently hold a summer camp at the same time and place, and the result of that is a panicked Furihata.Akashi Seijuro was an intimidating figure that Furihata was deathly scared of. However, as the training camp goes on, and too many encounters with Rakuzan's captain to be considered normal, Furihata starts to understand, and dare he say, becomes friends with him.
Relationships: Akashi Seijuurou & Furihata Kouki
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Defying Expectations

**Author's Note:**

> The summary really sucks so I apologize.  
> I had a dream about Furihata and Akashi becoming best friends at one point and I decided to write something based on that. I also want to mention that this can be imagined as a romance if you so desired. I am personally just going to write them becoming friends, but I will not hold you back if you want to imagine it as something else :)  
> Ok hope you enjoy!

It’s been about a year since the last Inter-High. The first years have moved up to second years, and second years to third years, and so on and so forth. After the whole tournament between Jabberwock and Vorpal Swords, people were feeling more motivated than ever. Which was perfect, given the time of year it was.

“Alright, Seirin’s summer training camp is a go!” Riko announced as they boarded the bus. “Do we have everyone?” Hyuuga called rolled to be sure, and once they concluded that everyone was there, they were on their way.

Even though last years training camp was rough, everyone was still excited in that they would be spending time with each other. It was hard, but they had fun nonetheless.

Furihata would be lying if he said that he wasn’t nervous. For one, he was always nervous, but for some reason this training camp put him on edge. Last year he had felt so useless and weak compared to everyone else on the team, but this year, he wanted it to be different. He clenched his fists in his lap. This year he was determined to improve. And if he’s lucky, become a starter. Chances were that that wouldn’t happen, but it was Izuki’s last year, and Furihata wanted to become the next point guard once he left.

“Hey man, what’re you looking all constipated for?” Fukuda, his close friend and seat mate on the bus, pestered him with a slap on the shoulder. Furihata jumped at the contact. Rubbing his shoulder from the sting of the slap, he turned to Fukuda with a small frown.

“I-I don’t look constipated!”

“You don’t know how you look! You don’t have a mirror!” Fukuda laughed at his own genius while Furihata just rolled his eyes.

“I’m just lost in thought, that’s all.”

“Oh, is that all?” He questioned with disbelief.

“Yes! That is all!” He lightly shoved Fukuda playfully. “Now back off!” Fukuda chuckled at his friend’s frustration, and raised his hands to protect himself from the fly away hands. Kawahara, who was sitting in the seat behind the two, raised his head and leaned on the back of their seat.

“What’s this about being constipated?” He strangely inquired, getting a few looks from other members. Furihata’s face flushed and ushered for both of them to be quiet.

“Do you guys have to be so loud?!” He whisper shouted. “No one’s constipated! Fukuda just thought he was being funny!”

“It was funny. Don’t lie!” All three of them argued, with Hyuuga ultimately winning by telling them to shut the hell up. They were quiet for a few minutes before a much quieter conversation started back up.

“So, how do you guys feel about the new location?” Kawahara asked, leaning himself against the seat once more. Furihata perked up.

“Oh, yeah. It is in a new area, isn’t it?” He recalled. “It’s further away than last time.”

“And we’re going to be there longer too.” Fukuda reminded. “It’s in Aichi prefecture, right? So that’s like, what? A four hour drive?”

“I think it’s closer to five.” Kawahara corrected. “But, point is, the drive is long, so of course the camp is going to be longer. Time’s not wasted.”

“I think that’s one of the things that scares me though.” Furihata admitted with a sigh. “I can’t even imagine what new things the coach is going to have us do.” All three of them shivered. “Or what she’ll cook.”

“The poor freshman.” Fukuda mumbled. “They won’t know what hit them.”

All three of them performed a silent prayer for both themselves, and the freshman on the team.

It was a long ride to the new training area. The ride was originally filled with laughter and communication, then everyone decided to go to sleep, then some woke up and started doing the first thing again while others were cranky of the noise because they couldn’t sleep. But then, before they knew it, they were given the ten minute mark from Riko and they could suddenly smell the salty scent of the ocean. Their adrenaline suddenly kicked in and everyone went to their windows to see the view. It was much prettier than last year’s location. Was this training camp more expensive than last year’s as well? Who cares. The fresh picture was rejuvenating, and was really pleasant on the eyes.

The last ten minutes were amazing, but once they got to their required destination, everyone was in awe. They didn’t even believe it until Riko shouted, “We’re here!” Everyone looked to her in disbelief. The building was huge! Was it a facility? A hotel? A bath? Apparently it was everything in one! What?!

“Where did we get the money to afford this?!” Kagami shouted from the back, just as dumbfounded as everyone else. Riko grinned from ear to ear.

“We won the Winter Cup last year, so we’ve been getting a lot of attention!” She exclaimed. “Our donations to the team have almost tripled!”

“Amazing!” Everyone awed. Having a popular team really paid off, didn’t it? To be able to afford facilities like this? Incredible!

They boarded off the bus, still awestruck by the whole thing, and mindlessly followed their coach inside, where she gave a brief tour of the area.

It very much resembled a hotel. Not super fancy, but much better than where they stayed last year. It smelled freshly cleaned, and when she showed them where they would be sleeping, everyone gasped. There were beds, actual beds! Was this place inspired by American attire? Cause there were no futons, but beds! Kagami in particular got really excited, saying things like, “Oh my god, yes! I love mattresses!” And proceeding to run and belly flop on one of the beds. “And they’re comfortable!” He screamed. He was then ridiculed by both Hyuuga and Riko, and he rolled off with a pout.

They were then assigned rooms and given their keys. They could only afford four rooms, so three people had to room with each other. Which was fine, on their part. Furihata, Fukuda, and Kawahara were rooming together, Kagami, Kuroko, and one of the freshman, Yagi Yuuta, were rooming, Hyuuga, Izuki, and Asahina Daigo, the other freshman, and then Kogenai, Mitobe, and Ishida were rooming. Riko, rightfully and obviously, got a room to herself.

The training camp would officially start tomorrow, and so the rest of the day, as they arrived rather late and all of them needed a break from that bus, were told to relax. Honestly, thank goodness.

Furihata, Kawahara, and Fukuda got settled in and did a game of rock, paper, scissors to see who would sleep alone. There were only two beds in the rooms, so two of them had to share.

“Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!” Kawahara was out.

“Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!” A tie.

“Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!” Fukuda out. Furihata pumped his fists up, victoriously.

“Yes!” He cheered, falling back on the bed that he won fair and square. The two of them sighed as they stared at the victor.

“Lucky bastard!” Kawahara said lightly. Furihata shrugged, but felt no remorse for winning.

“I call left side!” Fukuda shouted as he lunged for the other side of the bed. Furihata chuckled as he watched the turmoil unfold.

“I don’t care what side you get!”

“But it has the air conditioning, fool!”

“So?! That just means you’ll get cold!” Man. Winning a match of rock, paper, scissors has never felt so good.

The very next day, they were woken up with an airhorn being played in the hallway. Furihata had a panic attack and fell out of the bed, Kawahara kicked Fukuda off, and Fukuda threw a pillow at Kawahara in response. Which caused him to fall as well. From the other rooms, a plethora of screams and bangs were heard in every direction. Everyone exited their rooms with what the hell written all over their faces. There Riko stood. With an airhorn in one hand and whistle in the other.

“Get dressed!” She ordered. “Seirin’s training camp from hell officially starts now!”

“But, coach…” Asahina, the oblivious freshman, raised his hand and cocked a very lazy looking brow. “We’re not even-“ Riko blew the airhorn, resulting in everyone covering their ears.

“No arguing!” She ordered. “Be out in less than five.”

“Less than five?!” Everyone screamed.

“Yes!” Another blow of the airhorn. “Go! Your time starts now!” And in the blink of an eye, every member rushed back into their respective rooms in full blown panic. They could already tell by the way Riko was acting that this training camp was going to be significantly, increasingly harder than last years.

…

“Arrrrgh, my muscles feel like lead!” Kawahara complained as the trio walked to the bathrooms. It was the very next day, and everyone agreed that this camp was so much harder than last years.

“Mine feels like uranium.” Fukuda muttered, utterly exhausted. “Ha. Beat that, Furihata.”

“Huh? Oh. I, uh, mine feel like…” They saw him struggle to think before he answered with uncertainty, “…titanium?” Both Kawahara and Fukuda looked at him.

“…Dude, that’s not even that heavy a metal.” Fukuda corrected. Furihata flinched from the utter disappointment that showed in his friend’s face.

“D-don’t look at me like that!” He stuttered. “My muscles hurt! End of discussion!”

“At least I said a general saying.” Kawahara spat, side eyeing both of them. “You guys are dorks.”

The three of them made it to the public bathrooms in the inn safely. All three of them complained about certain things that were going on and how much they wished to be in bed right now. Furihata groaned.

“Ugh, you know what? I’m just going to say it. For once I would like it if this team gave me a heads up before hand of everything we were doing. I don’t want surprise practice games on the beach. I don’t want surprise laps around a heavily populated area. I don’t want snakes, burpees, or sprints where I know I’m going to get the lowest time. I don’t want any more surprises!” He pressed his hand to the bathroom door to push it open. But, when he turned to enter, actively ran into a full-figured body. “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!” Furihata screeched as he stumbled back into his friends, completely startled.

“Ah, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to frighten you.” At the calmness of the voice, Furihata sighed, feeling his nerves slow down.

“Oh…that’s ok. I-“ Furihata looked back up to face the man and his face went white. The man at the door stared at the three of them. And, in an instant, his eyes widened ever so slightly to express some form of surprise.

“…Seirin?”

“Akashi?!!” Furihata whimpered, literally shaking in his boots in front of the captain of Rakuzan. Kawahara and Fukuda muttered his name too. What were the odds of them running into Akashi Seijuro in a bathroom? Actually, that sentence alone sounded like an outrageous scenario. “W-w-w-“

“What are you doing here?!” Fukuda voiced Furihata’s thoughts in a clear and concise matter.

“Rakuzan is holding a training camp for the summer.” He answered. The three Seirin members stared off with incredulous stares. As if sensing their thoughts, the red-head’s poker face converted into one of elation. “Is Seirin also holding a training camp here?”

“Uh, well, that’s, uh…” The three of them stuttered out at the same time, looking to each other for some sort of guidance on what to say, but everyone being just as lost. Akashi waited patiently for a response, and as he waited and the others sputtered nonsense, a tall, onyx haired figure approached Akashi from behind.

“Sei-chan, sorry to make you wait!”

“It’s quite alright.” He had turned to face Reo through the doorway, but Reo was now focused on the three boys in front of him. He appeared shocked to see them. “Oh?! These are Seirin boys, aren’t they?” The three of them couldn’t answer effectively because of how dumfounded they were.

“Yes.” Akashi answered for them. “Seirin is holding a training camp here as well.”

“Why did you ask us if you already knew we were?” All three of them thought in unison. Reo mumbled an oh as he looked to the three of them rather humored.

“Really? That’s such a weird coincidence!”

“It really is funny.” Akashi said, not showing a hint of emotion that matched what he spoke. “I hope we see each other-“ They watched him pause, stare off for a second, and then press his hands together as if concluding something; excitement clear on his face. He leaned in closer to them by a smidge. “I should convince the coach to let Rakuzan and Seirin practice with each other!” The three Seirin members froze.

“Oh, that’s a great idea!” Reo gushed over the smaller’s proposal as the three boys couldn’t gather up the nerve to speak. “It would be great for the newcomers to play against the victors of last year’s Winter Cup!”

“I agree.” Said Akashi. “It would be great for us returners too.” He suddenly started walking off, but not before turning to face them. “I’ll pitch the idea to Coach Shirogane at once so that there’s no delay. It was great seeing you all! Let’s hope we see each other soon!” And before the three could muster up the courage to argue, both Akashi and Reo left in the other direction. It took the three of them a while before the petrifying spell wore off.

“What are you doing here?!” Furihata, not a stuttering mess anymore, shouted.

“He’s gone, Furihata.” Fukuda told him. “You’re response is hella delayed.”

“It’s like internet explorer.” Kawahara mumbled under his breath. Furihata, having being told that Akashi was gone, whipped his head around left and right frantically.

“What?! W-where’d he go?!” He forced out.

“Did you not hear the whole conversation?!” Fukuda turned to the, still, nervous mess of a boy. “He’s going to try and get Rakuzan and Seirin to train together!”

“Not try. He will.” Kawahara corrected. They both watched as Furihata’s soul left his body, going limp, and the two of them rushing to keep him from falling on the floor.

“Oh no, Furihata died!” Fukuda screamed in panic.

“Bring him back!” Kawahara shouted at him. They both shook him desperately.

“Get a hold of yourself, Furihata! Wake up!” They screamed in unison. After five minutes of aggressive shaking, they slowly started to see the light come back into Furihata’s eyes. “It worked!” They shouted, high fiving each other. Furihata put a hand to his head.

“Ugh, guys I had worst nightmare. It was so scary!” They both cocked their heads, and leaned into each other.

“How long was Furihata asleep?” Kawahara whispered to Fukuda.

“Like, ten minutes.”

“He reached REM state in ten minutes? Impressive.” Fukuda smacked Kawahara on the back of the head, the other wincing at the contact. Fukuda looked to Furihata.

“What was it about?” He asked him. Furihata chuckled.

“Something ridiculous! You guys were there, and then Akashi was there too! A nightmare about Akashi! Geez, he must REALLY trigger something in me. Cause, like, there was this whole talk about Rakuzan and Seirin training together? And, obviously that can’t happened because we’re hours away from each other and we’re at a training camp right now!” Kawahara and Fukuda didn’t say anything. Furihata’s eyes darted back and forth between the friends. “That was a dream…right?” The two of them looked to each other, and then slowly shook their heads no. Furihata frowned. “…no?”

“No.”

“…”

“…Furihata?” Furihata went limp again, and instantly, Fukuda slapped the unconscious body across the face.

“Don’t you dare leave us again!” Another slap to the face, this time, causing the victim to stir.

“Ow! Fukuda!”

“You’re awake!”

“I’m awake now!”

“Guys!” Kawahara gained their attention at his sudden outburst. “We need to be in the gym in five minutes!”

“Oh my god, coach is going to kill us!”

“We weren’t even there for warm up!” The three of them stood up frantically and sprinted as fast as they could to reach the gym on time.

Practice had just begun when they slammed through the gym doors. Their teammates turned to face them, and Riko…she did not look happy.

“Where the heck were you guys?!” She scolded in front of everyone. “Slept in?!”

“No no no! We ran into some trouble!” Kawahara tried to defend themselves, but they knew they were going to be punished anyway. With a blow of the coach’s whistle, they prepared for the worst.

“Ten laps around the gym!” She ordered. They blinked. “I’ll go easy on you this time. But next time you’re getting it!” She blew the whistle again and the three second years bursted into action; going into full sprints around the gym. The rest were ordered to proceed with the usual.

After fifteen minutes had passed, and the Seirin team was already panting and dripping with sweat, Riko blew her whistle to gain everyone’s attention. They all turned.

“Everyone follow me!” She instructed with a raised voice. “We’re heading over to the large gym!” She turned on her heel and marched out the door, and everyone, a bit confused, followed in return.

“The large gym?” Everyone thought. “What’s she going to make us do there?” They didn’t complain however, and just followed their coach adamantly.

When they reached the gym, Riko opened the doors and Seirin entered. When they entered, everyone turned white from literal shock. There in the gym was one of the most intimidating high school basketball teams to date: Rakuzan High. Their team was huge, and it appeared to have gotten larger with the addition of freshmen.

“Start stretching.” Riko ordered. “We’re about to do a practice match.”

“EEEEEEEHHHHHH?!!!!” Riko skipped over to Rakuzan’s coach, who greeted her openly. Hyuuga forced everyone to do as they were told, but even he was a nervous wreck. Kagami, as Kuroko pushed him further down to the ground, stared at the opposing team with bewilderment.

“Why is it that whenever we have a training camp some other team has to be here?!” He ranted. “How did Riko even know Rakuzan was here anyway?!” Kawahara, Fukuda, and Furihata shuddered at the statement. The three of them turned in unison to see Akashi Seijuro insouciantly dribbling a basketball on the other side of the court. They sweat dropped.

The devil works hard, but Akashi Seijuro works harder.

Not long after they started stretching, both coach’s blew their whistles, and everyone got in formation. They spouted the same spiel that they always had to do. Treat others with respect, have fun, but try hard, sort of deal. The two teams bowed in front of each other, signaling the beginning of a lengthy practice.

Kuroko and Kagami approached Akashi with a lot more determination and excitement than everyone else. Everyone assumed it was because they had become teammates for a short period of time to go up against Jabberwock. Everyone else on the other hand were way too nervous for their own good.

Riko sent out the starters first, saying that if they don’t make a good first impression that she was going to kill them. That was one way to spike motivation. Rakuzan didn’t do the same. They sent out one starter each time to play along others who were usually benched or were new to the team. That strategy made more sense to them because of their large player count. And, as this was a practice, everyone, not just the starters, needed to be active on the court. This also gave the team the chance to observe the other members of Rakuzan’s infamous team, and they did not disappoint.

After a few baskets were made, Rakuzan and Seirin being equals on the scoreboard, it was time for a member change. They separated and put together a whole new team to play. Riko looked at her players observantly, rubbing her chin in thought.

“Kuroko, you stay in.” She said first, with Kuroko nodding. “Asahina, replace Kagami.” The two switched places. Asahina admired Kagami greatly, so perhaps she was doing him a favor putting him in the same position. Kuroko most likely stayed in so that others could get used to his killer passes. She thought some more. “Mitobe, in. Koganei, in.” She must’ve been thinking about a more defensive positioning. “Furihata.” Furihata flinched. “Replace Izuki.” Furihata gulped.

“A-are you-“

“Izuki is leaving next year, and you wanted to be our starting point guard, correct?” Furihata didn’t deny it, but his face also screamed I didn’t think I’d be put in so soon! Riko didn’t care much. She smiled instead and said, “Get in there. Show them what you’ve got!”

“Go on, Furihata! You got this!” Kawahara supportively shouted. Furihata, a shaking mess, stood up and joined the rest of the players before heading to the court. Mitobe gave him a smile with a thumbs up.

“Mitobe says you got this.” Koganei translated the otherwise speechless individual.

“Thanks, Mitobe-senpai.”

“Don’t stress, Furihata-kun.” Kuroko comforted, placing a hand on Furihata’s shoulder to get him to notice him. “Rakuzan’s been letting the first years warm up to the atmosphere. There shouldn’t be too much pressure.” Just as he said that, they looked over to see that the starting member that they placed in with the newcomers was none other than Akashi Seijuro himself. Who was a point guard. Who Furihata would have to go up against. “I spoke too soon.” Kuroko said.

“Fuck my life.” Furihata thought. Everyone got into position, with Akashi and Furihata being parallel to each other on the court. The close proximity didn’t make Furihata feel any calmer.

“Furihata-kun.” Akashi acknowledged, making the other jump. “It’s a pleasure to play with you again. Lets both have fun.”

“Y-y-yeah.” Furihata said with chattering teeth. His nervous shaking in front of the captain of Rakuzan reminded everyone about the first time they interacted on the court. Two of the Rakuzan members, who were placed in to play, cocked their eyebrows. One of them elbowed the other.

“Hey,” They whispered. “Isn’t that the one that fell flat on their face last time?” There was a snicker behind their words, and the one he was talking to snickered as well.

“Oh yeah, I think you’re right!” They attempted to stifle their laughter, but to no avail. “Maybe he’s grown since then?”

“With the way he’s quivering now? Doubt it.” They were told to get in formation, and so had to separate themselves and get into action.

Rakuzan was first to get the ball, which put Furihata more on edge because, of course, the ball would end up in Akashi’s hands. Furihata rushed to guard him, and it suddenly became a battle between the two.

“Don’t fall over. Don’t fall over. Don’t fall over.” He thought to himself, remembering Akashi’s mastery of the ankle break. Even though he knew it was coming, and told himself to be more careful, once the action was performed there was no stopping him. Furihata fell to the ground and Akashi went in for a lay-up, which succeeded. “Damn it!” He cursed to himself, but as he wallowed in self deprecation, saw a hand approach him. He looked up to see their phantom sixth man smiling supportively. Smiling back, he took it, and the other helped him up.

“Remember to stay positive.” He said. “One defeat shouldn’t defeat you completely.”

“Right.”

“You’re doing great.”

“Thanks, Kuroko.” They regrouped and started playing again. Rakuzan got hold of the ball again, damn! But Kuroko got a steal, yes! The ball went straight into Furihata’s hands, surprisingly. He gritted his teeth from the stinging that shot through his arm. “Damn, Kuroko. That pass hurts! Go a little easy!” He stumbled a little bit, but the ball was his, and he started running it up the court. His eyes darted every which way looking for anyone who was clear. If he could get an effective pass in, then he was going to do it. Who was open? In the back, he noticed Asahina wasn’t being guarded. As soon as he saw this, he threw the ball in his direction, Asahina noticing that he was passing it to him. He caught it and immediately went for a shot. Furihata smiled.

*bam*

The ball went out of bounds, and everyone, who hadn’t seen it before, stared with bafflement. Furihata frowned.

“I forgot Akashi could actually jump really high.” Asahina was around the height of Kagami, who was taller than Akashi by a whole foot anyway. And he was still able to block the other with no trouble. “You’re just a monster, aren’t you?!”

About an hour passed, and a couple of member changes later, Furihata was still playing against the monster that was Akashi Seijuro. He was wheezing at this point, and the salt from his sweat was burning his eyes. Kuroko, who was still in the game as well, gave him a worrying look.

“Furihata-kun, maybe you should step out.”

“No. No I’m good.” He coughed as he poorly reassured the other. He was feeling his fatigue sink deeper into his system; his exhaustion was visible.

“Furihata, you can take a break you know!” Their coach hollered from the sidelines. “Just let me know! I’ll pull you out!” While wiping his brow, he thoroughly considered that option, and even took a few steps towards the bench. However, as he looked at the opposing team, he noticed a few of them giving looks. Nasty looks, the kind one makes when they are actively looking down on someone. And they were looking at him, and laughing amongst themselves. That made him feel horrible. The nerves in him came back; they were making fun of him. He could just leave and take whatever judgement they had, but something in him spoke up. So, he turned on his heel instead, and walked right back out on that court. He wasn’t just going to let that slide. He was going to prove himself to them. Show them that he was not one to be messed with. And if that meant a little overexertion, then so be it.

He got into position, and though his teammates were worried, they didn’t argue. He had such determination on his face. It was impossible to try and talk him out of whatever his mind had made up.

“Don’t lose, Kouki.” He encouraged himself. “You can do this. Don’t let them win. You got this!” As he forced faith into himself, the ball went up, and they shouted tip off. Furihata had made it this long. He already handled Akashi a lot better since the last time they played, and he wasn’t going to quit now.

Seirin got the ball, and in a matter of seconds, the ball was passed to Furihata. He caught it seamlessly, but once he started dribbling, caught Akashi in front of him blocking his view. He tried to get around, but he was still there. A few more tries, and he still couldn’t get around him. Akashi smirked that all knowing smirk that made Furihata so fearful.

He caught sight of one of his members from behind and went to pass. Akashi intercepted it with no issues and ran the ball up the court, passing it to one of his members who shot a successful three pointer. Furihata gulped. He was going to have to try harder.

Rakuzan took hold of the ball during the next game. It was passed around a few times before it made its way into Akashi’s hands. Furihata was on him moments later. He was determined to give Akashi a hard time.

Akashi was incredibly fast, it was hard to keep up with him, just like the other GOM members. Furihata’s muscles were so sore, he didn’t want to move, and he could barely breathe. But his teammates were relying on him, and his pride was on the line. He was going to keep up with him whether his body agreed to it or not. And that’s exactly what he did.

Many of the people observing were surprised that Akashi had yet to find a way to pass the ball. Furihata was on him like a leech, keeping an eye on his every move. They’d been at this one on one battle for a while.

“I have to say, Furihata-kun, I’m impressed.” Akashi said as he dribbled the ball every which way, making Furihata struggle to stay on his feet. “Keeping me on my toes is not an easy feat.”

“Yeah, no shit!” The point guard’s handles were beyond impressive. Furihata still couldn’t believe his body was keeping up, granted with high difficulty.

Until it wasn’t.

His muscles gave in, not being able to push them any further. He left an opening, and Akashi made a pass to one of his teammates, who made a shot that ultimately ended the game. He was so disappointed in himself, but it was hard to think about that when his legs were shaking from fatigue, his breathing was so heavy that it sounded as if he had asthma, and overall just looked like the worst mess that an adequate basketball player could be.

He heard people calling his name, but he couldn’t move. He just…he needed a quick break. Maybe some water. Needed a moment for his breathing to settle.

“Furihata-kun.” He looked up from where he was heaving to see the very intimidating Akashi Seijuro. He shuddered as he forced himself to stand, not wanting to look weak in front of the other. Akashi furrowed his brows slightly. “You seem to have ran out of stamina. I think it would be best for you to sit out the next one, like your coach said.” Coach said something? Furihata didn’t hear it. In fact….why couldn’t he speak at all? Akashi noticed and cocked his head. “Can you not breathe?” Once Akashi asked that question, everyone around turned their heads in worry.

“Furihata, are you ok?!”

“Do you need an inhaler?!”

“Do we need to call the hospital?!”

“You should sit down.” A plethora of comments were thrown his way, a mixture of the Seirin and Rakuzan members speaking. Furihata shook his head. His throat wasn’t closed, he was fine. He was just so drained.

“I-“ Everyone paused to listen to him out of worry. “I can breathe. I just…need to…” He froze. Nausea suddenly overcame him in an overwhelming burst. He took deeper breathes to try and settle it, but just breathing seemed to worsen it.

“Furihata, are you sure you’re ok?” Izuki asked him from the side. When Furihata went to answer, it happened.

He gagged, hurled, violently. His stomach contracted and he felt the bile shoot out from his mouth, burning the back of his throat. He stumbled a bit, his fatigued body getting the best of him, but once everything came up, he could breathe better and, suddenly, he didn’t feel quite as sick anymore.

Until he looked up and realized that all of his puke was on the body of a particular red-headed point guard.

Furihata’s jaw hung open, mortified at what he saw. He was getting sick to his stomach all over again.

He did not just projectile vomit on Akashi!

Everyone’s mouths were agape from what happened, no one being able to speak. A few strained squeaks escaped Furihata’s throat. Akashi’s hands were clenched, shoulders stiff, and his eyes were still closed from him preparing for the worst. His expression was the same as always, but his mouth was twitching into a grimace.

Furihata felt horrible. It was so obvious that he was utterly disgusted, but he was trying to hide it to keep the embarrassment to a minimum.

“I-I’m so sorry.” Furihata whispered, not being able to speak any louder. The broken silence caused more people to speak up. Riko dragged Furihata off the court in worry that he was sick, and everyone else either made fun of what happened or vocalized their worries. It was mainly Rakuzan’s members who joked around about Furihata’s misery. He sulked.

Of course when he goes to prove them wrong he just proves them right. This really was going to be a training camp from hell.


End file.
